UEFA will introduce additional security measures at Euro 2024 matches and file criminal complaints against any fans who trespass on the backfield six spectators tried to take pictures with Cristiano Ronaldo while PortugalGroup F win against Türkiye in Dortmund on Saturday.
German referee Felix Zwayer was forced to stop the match, which ended in a 3-0 victory for Portugal, on four separate occasions after fans ran onto the field and headed towards Ronaldo.
Two more supporters tried to reach the ex Manchester United, Juventus And Real Madrid forward after the final whistle, prompting Portugal coach Roberto Martinez to express concern about his players’ safety if a fan had malicious intentions rather than just trying to take a selfie with people on the field.
Borussia DortmundThe Westfalenstadion is scheduled to host the tournament’s later semi-finals and will be the venue for the match GermanyRound of 16 match schedule. The host nation top Group A, but UEFA have now chosen to increase security at all venues in a bid to prevent further incidents of fans running onto the pitch.
“Safety and security in the stadium, on the field and at team facilities are a top priority for UEFA, the DFB (German Football Association) and Euro 2024,” a UEFA spokesperson told ESPN.
“For this purpose, additional safety measures will be implemented at the stadiums to further meet tournament requirements and to prevent such incidents. For security reasons, we cannot comment further on specific measures.”
UEFA also called on German police to take action if spectators ran onto the field of play and banned any fans from doing so for the remainder of the tournament.
A spokesman said: “As a reminder, any trespass on the field is a breach of stadium regulations and will result in being ejected from the stadium and banned from all matches. tournament and filed a formal criminal complaint of infringement.”
Portugal qualified for the round of 16 as Group F winners by defeating Türkiye and will play their final group match against Georgia in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday.
The Euro 2016 winners will then play in the round of 16 against the third-placed qualifiers in Frankfurt on 1 July.
